Article Writing Background Information

I gained my first experiences in basic article writing when I started creating "lenses" at Squidoo.com. To answer the question, "What's a lens?" Squidoo's FAQ states:

"A lens is one person's view on a topic that matters to her. It's an easy-to-build, single web page that can point to blogs, favorite links, RSS feeds, Flickr photos, Google maps, eBay auctions, CafePress designs, Amazon books or music, and thousands of products from hundreds of other trusted merchants. You can pick whatever content you want to put in your lens to bring context to your topic. Then, when someone is looking for recommended information, fast, your lens gets him started and sends him off in the right direction. It's a place to start, not finish."

I created four lenses in all, each about a different topic. Two are related to my professional life and two are about my past hobbies at the time when the Internet was not mainstream - BBS (Bulletin Board System) with PC running MS DOS with a modem connected to it were the popular means of interactive communication.

First you have to learn how to crawl before you can learn how to walk.
In retrospect, the Squidoo lenses were my "crawling" exercises and simple walking attempts. They were, for the most part, like the "scraps" I put online: good content that cannot quite be considered finished articles. It was a helpful experience and I highly recommend the process of creating a lens or even dozens of them at Squidoo.com.

The first "real" article
I wrote my first "real" article in March 2006 for AffiliateTip.com. The article is about problems that merchants and affiliates face when they utilize complete website templates as promotional tools. I liked the writing experience and have continued to write articles.

Unfinished and "raw" work
I also started creating and publishing (here at my site) what I call my "Scraps." These articles are basically interesting and content rich, yet not quite polished. Scraps often lack the proper structure or grammatical precision of release-version "final" articles.

I have created label images for each of the main article categories about which I usually write. The Article/Scraps Categories are as follows: eMarketing, SEM/SEO, Blogging, Wikipedia, Text Art, Datafeeds, Other.

I am posting these Scraps because I hope that the information contained will be informative and even helpful. Any comments and recommendations, positive as well as critical, are welcome and appreciated. There is a saying in German, roughly translated to English it is: "I have never seen a Master falling out of the sky." Everything requires learning, and getting feedback is one of the best ways to learn.

Over the years, I have collected tons of useful information related to Internet marketing and web development. Because this information is so valuable, I've decided to structure my private collections of resources and make them public on my website.

I have created individual pages for each main topic and filled those pages with the best of the resources and information that I have found - things I have test-driven and for which I can offer honest and reliable recommendations.

Lucky you! I have done all the tough work for you! All my years of experience as an affiliate and as an affiliate manager - reading newsletters, actively participating in forums and more - have helped me create an invaluable resource for my readers.

I have no problem sharing this with you, despite others who would prefer to keep things a secret forever. You and anybody else can benefit from them instantly via the push of a button. Make the most of them. I can only show you the short-cuts, you have to work them yourself.

Free Reprint Article Directories

My Profile

My Articles Feed

Name of the Directory

Ezine Articles is one of the largest, oldest and most respected article directories on the internet. They offer numerous tools for writers that help to promote their articles and track article distribution.

Go Articles is a large article directory that is owned by Jayde Online, Inc (ExactSeek, SiteProNews, ISEDN.org etc.)

No Author Feed Available

Article Blast is a major article directory that also provides some basic statistics about article and write profile hits.

No Author Feed Available

Articles Factory is a popular article directory. A unique feature of the directory is the option to subscribe to email notification for specific categories (for publishers).

ArticleAlley.com is a large article directory that also features a wiki for general description and definition of the terms and categories the website features articles for.

SearchWarp.com is a big article directory with many community features, personalization, promotional tools and comprehensive statistics. Note: new articles to SEO, SEM, affiliate marketing and making money online are not permitted anymore.

No Author Feed Available

IdeaMarketers.com is a large article directory and article portal with many distribution and promotion options. Unique is the option to pay for special placement and promotion of your own articles.

Article Submission Programs and Services

SubmitYourArticle.com - Article Submission Service by Takanomi. You don't want submit your articles manually to all thoses article directories, don't you? Instant Article Submitter is a desktop tool that lets you submit articles to several directories. You only pay a one-time fee of $97 and can submit as many articles as you want whenever you want instead of paying for a submission service for a recurring monthly subscription.

I also have a list of Press Release Newswire Services available here at Cumbrowski.com. Press Releases are not Articles, but they often serve the same purpose and are easier to write.